St. Edward Catholic School in Nashville banned J.K. Rowling’s wildly popular “Harry Potter” stories.
The seven-book fantasy series chronicling the magical adventures of young witches and wizards were removed from the school library due to their content.
“These books present magic as both good and evil, which is not true, but in fact a clever deception,” the Rev. Dan Reehil, a pastor at the Roman Catholic parish school, wrote in an email obtained by the Nashville Tennessean.
“The curses and spells used in the books are actual curses and spells,” he continued. “Which, when read by a human being, risk conjuring evil spirits into the presence of the person reading the text.”
Reehil even consulted several exorcists in the US and Rome, who also recommended prohibiting the books.
The pastor reportedly sent the email following an inquiry from a parent; he also notified faculty.
Since the release of Rowling’s first novel, “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” (or “Sorcerer’s Stone” in the US) in 1997, the books have found monstrous success, attracting audiences of all ages.
Not everyone is a fan, though; Harry Potter remains controversial in some circles—particularly religious ones.
The Catholic Church does not have an official position on the books, according to Rebecca Hammel, superintendent of schools for the Catholic Diocese of Nashville.
In this case, the school’s pastor has the final say.
“Each pastor has canonical authority to make such decisions for his parish school,” Hammel explained. “He’s well within his authority to act in that manner.”
Meanwhile, parents—who the Catholic Church concede are children’s primary teachers—are free to introduce their kids to Harry Potter’s wizarding world if they see fit.
“We would hope that they would just guide their sons and daughters to understand the content through the lens of our faith,” Hammel said in a statement to the Tennessean.
“We really don’t get into censorship in such selections other than making sure that what we put in our school libraries is age appropriate materials for our classrooms,” she added.
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